Lubricant circulating angular contact ball bearing

ABSTRACT

An angular contact bearing having a porous, permeable separator for lubricant circulation is disclosed. The separator includes a cylindrical surface which wipingly engages a cylindrical surface continuous with the raceway on the outer race. The lubricant circulation is from the cylindrical surface of the race through the porous separator to the balls; the balls in turn redistributing the lubricant back to the raceways and cylindrical surface.

United States Patent Flandrena [54] LUBRICANT CIRCULATING ANGULARCONTACT BALL BEARING [72] Inventor: William Kenneth l landrena,-Milwaukee,

Wis,

[73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation, Detroit,

Mich.

[22] Filed: Sept. 11, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 857,125

[52] US. Cl .l ..308/l87, 308/201 [51 1 Int. Cl. [58] FieldofSearch..308/187, 201,217

[56] 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Bott.,. 3 os/2o1 Feb. 29,1972 3,096,129 7/1963 Hay ....308/20l 3,494,291 2/1970 Carter,.|r"308/201 Primary ExaminerMartin P. S chwadron Assistant ExaminerFrankSusko Attorney-Warren E. Finken and F. J. Fodale [57] ABSTRACT Anangular contact bearing having a porous, permeable separator forlubricant circulation is disclosed. The separator includes a cylindricalsurface which wipingly engages a cylindrical surface continuous with theraceway on the outer race. The lubricant circulation is from thecylindrical surface of the race through the porous separator to theballs; the balls in turn redistributing the lubricant back to theraceways and cylindn ca] surface.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures Paltented Feb. 29, 1972 Wa /12m y ma A TTOR/V5 Y LUBRICANT CIRCULATING ANGULAR CONTACT BALL BEARING Theinvention herein described was made in the course of work under acontract or subcontract thereunder with the Department of Defense (AirForce).

My invention relates generally to an angular contact ball bearing andmore specifically to an angular contact ball bearing which includesmeans for maintaining the bearing lightly lubricated by providingfor thecirculation of lubricant from lubricant surplus to lubricant depletedareas of the bearing.

in certain applications, such as for the spin axis of gyroscopes, it isimportant that the bearings have an extremely smooth, low torqueoperation. Likewise in such a use, there is usually subsequentinaccessibility requiring the inclusion of the entire life supply oflubricant into the hearing at the initial time of assembly.Consequently, while such a use requires the inclusion of this lifesupply of lubricant, at the same time the bearing must not beexcessively lubricated because the high operational speeds andaccuracyrequired of a gyroscope require smooth operating and hence themaintenance of a minimal surface film of lubricant on the bearingraceways and balls.

It is broadly the object of my invention to provide an improved angularcontact ball bearing incorporating a mechanism for maintainingcontrolled bearing lubrication for an extended period of time.

Another object of my invention is to provide an angular contact ballbearing especially adapted for but not limited to use in a gyroscope inwhich a mechanism is provided to lightly lubricate the bearing andmaintain this light lubrication of the bearing for an extended period oftime.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ball bearing in whichlubricant is circulated from excessively lubricated regions of thebearing to lubricant depleted areas of the bearing to maintain a lightlubricant film on the balls and raceways of the bearing.

Another object of my invention is to provide an angular contact ballbearing in which the tendency to accumulate excess lubricant in thecritical ball path region of the bearing has been eliminated therebyproviding for smoother bearing operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ball bearing in whichlubricant is recirculated in the bearing for longer and smootheroperation and in which lubricant is filtered at a point during thisrecirculation.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention asillustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through a ball bearing in accordance with myinvention.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the ball bearing shown in FIG. 1 with theparts of the bearing broken away for clarity.

Referring now to the drawing, the ball bearing indicated generally atincludes an inner race 12 having a deep groove raceway 14 defined by theuninterrupted shoulders 16. The outer race 18 has a partially formed orhalf raceway 20 which is defined by the single thrust shoulder 22 at thelefthand side of the bearing as shown in FIG. 1. The opposite orright-hand side of the outer race has a cylindrical surface 24 which iscontinuous with the raceway 20 from its major diameter 26. Rollablyengaging the raceways l4 and 20 is a complement of balls 28 which aredisposed in the pockets 30 of the separator 32. The separator 32 has thenormal end ring 34 on the lefthand side as viewed in FIG. 1, however,the right-hand end ring 36 and portion of the separator 32 is enlargedto form a cylindrical surface 38 which wipingly engages the cylindricalsurface 24 on the outer race 18.

The separator 32 is porous and permeable at least from the cylindricalsurface 38 to the inside of the ball pockets 30. The porous intersticesare of such a size so as to produce a capillary action on any. lubricantwiped from the surface 24 onto the surface 38 in order to erform alubricant circulatin function. At its initial installa ion, the porousseparator 2 IS 1mpregnated with substantially a life supply oflubricant. In addition, a light film of this same lubricant may beapplied to the steel surfaces of the bearing.

In operation regardless of which race is fixed, excess lubricant tendsto accumulate in the outer raceway 20 at the major diameter 26.Capillary action draws the excess lubricant into the interface formed bythe surfaces 24 and 38. As the separator 32 rotates relative to theouter race 18, it wipes this excess lubricant off the surface 24 andonto the surface 38 where capillary action wicks the excess lubricantthrough theseparator to the inside surfaces of the ball pockets 30. Theballs 28 rub against the surfaces of the pockets 30 picking up thelubricant and redistributing it to the raceways l4 and 20. Thus it canbe seen that excess lubricant is constantly being removed and a'thinfilm being maintained for smoother, life-long operation. It is to benoted that the tendency is for the excess lubricant to collect on theouter raceway 20 and to migrate toward the cylindrical surface 24regardless of which race is rotating. In those instances where the innerrace 12 is fixed and the outer race 22 is rotating, it will beappreciated that this collection and migration of excess lubricant isaided by centrifugal force. It is also to be noted that the constantremoval of excess lubricant from the raceways eliminates the tendency toaccumulate excess lubricant in the critical ball path region and thusprovides for smoother bearing operation. It is also to be noted that therecirculation of the lubricant while maintaining a lightly lubricatedbearing at all times also provides for lubritions of the example of theinvention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure, which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim: 1. A lubricant recirculating ball bearing comprising incombination,

an inner race having a deep groove raceway with uninterrupted shoulders,an outer race having a second raceway with a single shoulder adjacentone side of said raceway, said opposite side being unshouldered andhaving a cylindrical surface continuous with said second racewaysubstantially from its maximum diameter, a separator having a pluralityof ball pockets and made from a permeable material, a complement ofballs disposed in said pockets and rollably engaging said raceways, saidseparator including a cylindrical surface wipingly engaging saidcylindrical surface on said outer race, and capillary means in saidseparator extending from said cylindrical surface to said pocketswhereby lubricant wiped from said cylindrical surface on said outer raceby said separator is delivered to said balls through said separator,said capillary means comprising the pore interstices of the permeablematerial in said cage.

nine: nnan

1. A lubricant recirculating ball bearing comprising in combination, aninner race having a deep groove raceway with uninterrupted shoulders, anouter race having a second raceway with a single shoulder adjacent oneside of said raceway, said opposite side being unshouldered and having acylindrical surface continuous with said second raceway substantiallyfrom its maximum diameter, a separator having a plurality of ballpockets and made from a permeable material, a complement of ballsdisposed in said pockets and rollably engaging said raceways, saidseparator including a cylindrical surface wipingly engaging saidcylindrical surface on said outer race, and capillary means in saidseparator extending from said cylindrical surface to said pocketswhereby lubricant wiped from said cylindrical surface on said outer raceby said separator is delivered to said balls through said separator,said capillary means comprising the pore interstices of the permeablematerial in said cage.